Barbari bread traces back to the Qajar era. It apparently takes its name from a community of people called Barbars which was settled around Teheran during the 19th century.[3][4]
During the Qajar dynasty, numerous Hazaras immigrated to Khorasan province. The Hazaras of Khorasan province were known by the name Barbar until the Pahlavi period. While the term "Barbari" for this tribe was replaced by "Khavari" by royal edict of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi,[5][6][7] the bread itself kept its title and is now commonly known as "nān-e barbari" in Iran.
The bread is still referred to as nān-e barbari in Iran while Hazaras refer to it as nān-e tanūri ("tandoor [tandir] bread").[8][9]
Manufacture and style
The bread is usually 70 cm to 80 cm long, and 25 cm to 30 cm wide.[10] It is the most common style baked in Iran. It is served in many restaurants with Lighvan cheese, a ewe's milk cheese similar to feta cheese.[11]
^Wulff, Hans E. (1966). The Traditional Crafts of Persia. Cambridge: M.I.T. Press. p. 291. Retrieved 25 March 2025. Nān-e barbari is bread of medium hardness, about 3/4 inch thick and leavened like the sangak. It has its name from a community of Berbers which one of the Qajār šāhs settled south of Teheran during the last century
^Karizaki, Vahid Mohammadpour (2017). "Ethnic and traditional Iranian breads: different types, and historical and cultural aspects". Journal of Ethnic Foods. 4 (1). BMC Springer: 10–11. Retrieved 25 March 2025. Barbars were an ethnic group indigenous to northeastern Iran that borders Afghanistan. Barbari implies of or related to barbars. Dehkhoda dictionary of Persian language has mentioned a type of bread that was baked by a barbars group called barbari. The barbars brought this bread to Tehran during the Qajar period.
^Shobhas Food Mazaa, Change of title "Barbari" to "Khavari", The Barbars hated being referred by such a name and Reza Shah granted them the name Khavari (Easterners)
